


Let Them Fall

by Padawanwithasailboat (Sanfransokyoshiro)



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Failed Mission, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot, Stormpilot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-08 21:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5513990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanfransokyoshiro/pseuds/Padawanwithasailboat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a failed training mission, Finn is there to help Poe deal with the loss of his squadron and to provide a shoulder to cry on.</p>
<p>(Written for a Tumblr prompt: Could you possibly write a hurt!Poe Dameron with Protective/Concerned/Caring Finn and BB-8 story?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Look, I wrote another Stormpilot one-shot. Written for an anon on Tumblr. Hope you guys like it.

A groan escaped Poe as he slowly came to his senses. The first thought that permeated his drugged mind was that Finn was sitting beside him, holding his hand, while BB-8 paced (at least as much as a BB droid can pace) in the farthest corner of the room. The second thought that made it through his mind was that he wasn’t in his ship’s cockpit anymore. Another groan, this one grabbing Finn’s attention. 

“Hey,” Finn said gently. 

“Hurts…”

“You’re gonna be okay,” Finn said, giving Poe’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Doc says you’ll be right as rain in a couple of weeks.” More groaning and pained sounds as Poe attempted to sit up. Finn immediately pushed him back into the soft pillows. “Hey, hey. Down, Poe. You need to rest, now.”

“Black Squadron. We were – we were ambushed… What happened to the rest of my team?” 

“You don’t need to worry about that now, we –”

“Don’t mess me around, Finn. What happened to my squadron?” Finn’s face hardened. 

“So far, we’ve pulled seven other pilots from the wreckage. They’re still searching the crash site for survivors, but Poe, it’s not looking good now.” 

BB-8, having realized his master was awake, rushed over and began frantically beeping and pushing against Finn’s leg.

“Hey BB-8. I’m good.” He leaned over the side of the bed and put on the most reassuring smile possible at the moment. “See? I’m all good.” The BB unit let out a mournful series of beeps. “I know. I’m sorry buddy. It – it was only meant to be a training exercise. And now they’re dead.” Poe’s body began to tremble with the effort of holding back tears.

“Poe. Please don’t blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault. I mean, how could you have known the TIE’s were going to be waiting in the pass? If it wasn’t for your leadership, those men and women out there would not be alive.” 

BB-8 made a series of beeps that sounded like affirmation. 

Finn sighed. “Yeah, that’s right BB-8. You need to rest now, Poe. I’m sure the General will be in to debrief you soon.”

Poe leaned further into the pillows as Finn and BB-8 left the room, finally letting the tears fall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn begins to settle into life in the Resistance. Poe briefs his team on their upcoming training run.

“Finn, you’ll be reading out the intelligence briefing for Commander Dameron’s training mission,” General Organa said, handing him a holopad and walking away from the command center and down the hall.

 “But General, is it really okay for me to see this? I mean, all things considered…” Finn knew that many people on the D’Qar base didn’t trust him, what with his history with the First Order. Granted, they were outweighed by the many friends – friends! – he had made since waking up.

The General stopped so suddenly that Finn was a hair away from crashing into her back. The look of fire on her face both scared him and made him admire her more. “What does it matter what they think? You have my trust, and I pride myself on being a good judge of character. Mostly.” The last word was spoken so quietly that Finn was unsure she had even said it, but the guilt and sorrow that ghosted across her face assured his that he had heard correctly.

“Yes Ma’am. Will you be sitting in today?” Finn asked, hoping she would say yes. Even just one more friendly face would set his mind at ease.

“Of course I will be. You know me.” Finn didn’t know about that, but the level of involvement that she had with her subordinates, be it in the daily going-ons at the base, or each individual mission, still left Finn feeling flabbergasted. It just worked to make the differences between the cold and impersonal First Order and the near-familial Resistance that more obvious.

General Organa had been kind enough to allow Finn to shadow her since he awoke from his coma, essentially becoming her assistant. Though most of the tasks were menial and could be carried out by any cadet, Finn was glad of the distraction in provided him. From the speed at which his body became tired out by physical tasks, no doubt due to his recovering condition, as well as the loss of Rey, who had gone to seek out her own destiny and who had failed to check in with Resistance Command in the three weeks since she had left.

The pressurized hiss of a door opening brought his attention back to the here-and-now. Both he and the General entered the briefing room to see Commander Poe Dameron, all decked out in his flight gear, address the members of Red and Blue Squadrons. When he caught sight of Finn, as small smile graced his lips. The tender look was quickly replaced by sheer professionalism when Poe saw who Finn’s companion was. Finn wanted to laugh when Poe drew himself up to his full height.

 _He’s an impressive figure when he’s in “commander mode_ , _”_ Finn thought, shaking his head. _Only for General Organa_. He looked around the room, as Poe preformed a last minute run through of the training exercise for the day.

“We’re just going to be running through some simple maneuvers, as well as teamwork.” One of the more seasoned pilots of Red Squadron received a pointed look from Poe. “And Davin, that means no stunt-pulling. I’m sure Engineering doesn’t want to see your sorry face for at least another standard month.” That elicited a collection of laughs from the indignant pilot’s teammates. Poe’s face lit up almost imperceptibly when the General’s soft laughter joined the room’s hum.

Poe cleared his throat and glanced at General Organa, who gave him the go-ahead to continue.

“Earlier this morning, I enlisted Dagger Squadron to strategically place beacons on the surface of Lothal. It will be your mission to retrieve these beacons with minimal disturbance, as well as eliminating the stationary “targets” that have been placed nearby. This is a team building exercise, first and foremost, but let’s add a bit of competition; the group that preforms best will be relieved of tomorrow’s duties. Those that show the least improvement will take on the winning team’s duties.” This elicited groans from members of both squadrons, and Finn could have sworn sideways that the two pilots in the corner over there, Wexley and Nunb, were making their own wagers.

“Hey! Quiet down,” Poe said, and the buzz quickly diminished to a few whispered exchanges. Poe turned to General Organa. “Ma’am, may I inquire about the intelligence briefing?” The General turned to Finn.

“Your friend will be taking care of that today. I will be observing.” With that, she motioned Finn forward.

“Erm, yes. Well, hello,” Finn swallowed nervously and glanced to Poe, who gave him an encouraging thumbs up. He activated the holopad. “There have been a few sighting of TIE fighter in the greater Lothal sector in the last standard week. As such all pilots are to be on the lookout for any First Order activity.” This led to more murmuring erupting from the crowd and more than a few pilots looked concerned. Finn powered on anyway “None of the TIE’s have been spotted in any of the systems near the planet Lothal, so I’m sure nothing will come of it. Lothal has a diverse terrain, ranging from mountains to grasslands, so each group should be prepared for the challenges this will bring. No group is to go near the planet’s recovering forests. I believe that is all. Please see me for your team assignments.”

As the pilot’s began to swarm him to learn of their pairings, Finn caught a peek of the General and Poe, who both gave him approving looks. Finn beamed back at them.

* * *

“Command, this is Black Leader. We have exited hyperspace by Lothal’s second moon. Now entering the planet’s atmosphere,” Poe’s voice crackled across the commlink in the Command Centre.

“Copy that, Black Leader. All clear from our end,” Lieutenant Connix replied.

Finn stood to the side, doing his best to stay out of the way in the bustling Comm Center. General Organa stood behind the lieutenant, quietly observing all that went on around her.

“All squadron members; begin the exercise.” A chorus of “yessirs” was heard over the commlink.

“Blue 3 to Black Leader.  I’m picking up something on my radar. 9 objects moving fast just came off the surface.”

“This is Red 6. I see them, t – TIE fighters! I have eyes. Inbound at 2 o’clock!”

“All members fall back to my position and into defense formation 2.”

“Yessi- I’m hi-!” The static over the commlink signaled the loss of a pilot.

“Red 4? Red 4, do you copy?” Silence. “Damnit,” Poe swore.

“Black Leader; I had eyes on Blue 5 heading towards the planet’s surface. She’s hit.”

“Black Lead-” More static.

“Commander! What do we do? There’s too many of them.”

“And no exit point!”

“Maintain formation and check your teammate. We will get ou-” Static.

The General grabbed the commlink from Lieutenant Connix. “Black Leader. Black Leader, do you copy?”

“He’s been hit! Think his comm’s been taken out, too!” Finn’s heart dropped into his stomach and fear was taking over.

“Poe!” He cried out.

“General! We’re being smashed out here! We need support.”

“You heard the man! Scramble Stiletto Squadron and tell them to be ready for a firefight,” General Organa ordered. The Comm Center had become a madhouse and she had to shout just to be heard over the commotion. An intelligence officer rushed over.

“Ma’am, given our calculations, Stiletto squadron won’t be any help. They won’t be out of hyper drive in time.”

“My order still stands.”

“Yes Ma’am.” The officer rushed away to relay instructions to his subordinates. Finn could feel his heart rate increasing. Poe had been shot down. No one would get there in time to help. Had he messed up? Had he read the intelligence briefing wrong?

General Organa looked up to see Finn close to having a full-blown panic attack. “Corporal Ueno, escort Finn out of Command and notify him that I will be along shortly to brief him on the situation.

“Yes Ma’am.”

* * *

The door to Finn’s quarters hissed open. He glanced up to see General Organa standing in the doorway.

“General? Is there any news?” Finn’s eyes were still puffy from crying.

“Stilletto squadron was able to secure the area, and we have recovery teams on the ground now.” _Recovery_. That meant that there was no hope of anyone being alive.

“Oh. I understand.” Finn replied, his heart sinking.

“Commander Dameron was pulled from the wreckage of his craft. The transport ship he and seven other survivors are on just touched down. Initial reports state that none of their injuries are immediately life threatening. He’ll live, Finn.” Where his heart had been somewhere in the dirt before, now it had soared above the cloud. Poe was alive.

“Can I see him?” He asked, eager to see for himself that the man who had given him a name was truly safe.

“Not just yet.”

“Oh. I understand. Thank you for letting me know, General.” General Organa smiled softly, making her seem less like a war hero and military commander and more like a caring, motherly figure.

“Please, call me Leia when I’m not on duty, and take comfort. You’ll see him soon. I know how much he means to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that there's not a lot of Stormpilot interaction in this chapter, but the next one will be dealing with the repurcussions of the failed mission and Poe's recovery, so I promise there will be angst and fluff galore!  
> A very nice commenter prompted me to continue this and explain the events leading up to the previous chapter. Here you go. I hope you liked it. Also, this is not beta'd, so all mistakes are mine and I would greatly appreciate it if they were pointed out to me.   
> Updates will be kinda erratic, but spring break is next week, so I'll have lots more time to write.


End file.
